• BountifulEggnog [she/her]
    ·
    edit-2
    7 months ago

    It's very sad to me how little most people know about animals. Even common ones like dogs, people misread their body language.

        • Aquilae [he/him, they/them]
          ·
          7 months ago

          Ig 30 thousand years of symbiosis isn't for nothing cuz understanding dog emotions seems to be instinctual

          • D61 [any]
            ·
            7 months ago

            Unfortunately, there's humans that kinda accumulate animals like people accumulate furniture. They get them and just expect them to exist, "over there", until convenient to be interacted with.

        • Moss [they/them]
          ·
          7 months ago

          The first dog looks like my doggy and I saw her just yesterday but I already miss her

      • take_five_seconds [he/him, any]
        hexagon
        ·
        7 months ago

        any cesar milan show. there's one on disney+ rn and idk where his old show is streaming but his show has helped me a lot with my fear of dogs

        • D61 [any]
          ·
          7 months ago

          Lots of episodes are of a decent quality and on YT... so, find a good front end and get to watching folks.

        • CarbonScored [any]
          ·
          7 months ago

          He got a fair bit of hate online, and though he undoubtedly he makes mistakes sometimes, he really does have a very good understanding of dog ownership.

    • mar_k [he/him]
      ·
      edit-2
      7 months ago

      I thought it was common knowledge that cats' tails and ears are basically a mood meter but apparently people without cats don't usually get it? Like when they're walking, tail straight up = happy (excited if quivering), half way up = relaxed, wagging = frustrated, low to the ground = scared/nervous. Some things you pick up on naturally having one

      • huf [he/him]
        ·
        7 months ago

        yeah, that's how you end up with the "the cat attacked me without any warning!" stories.

        • mar_k [he/him]
          ·
          edit-2
          7 months ago

          Stranger who came into a cat's space to touch them without even trying to play it slow will tell you "cats are assholes who scratch you for no reason!", after ignoring the ears back, tail making a noise from flicking up and down, wide anxious eyes, tense posture

          Something even a lot of cat owners don't seem to understand is when they show you their bellies, they're (usually) not asking for belly rubs, it's a sign of trust by showing you their most vulnerable part (ie where predators would attack them) and expecting you to not touch there. If you rub the belly and they scratch, they got too overstimulated and disembowelment defense instinct kicked in. Some cats will actually attack their own feet if it touches there

          Also, I've heard autistic people say cats share a lot of traits of autism (and dogs with ADHD?), like having more personal boundaries, taking more time to adjust to change or people they aren't familiar with, and getting overstimulated by excessive touch/sound

          • huf [he/him]
            ·
            edit-2
            7 months ago

            yeah, there's nothing really special about handling cats. i'm usually just polite, like i'd be to people.

            also, that belly rub thing... eh. lots of cats like belly rubs. mine does. others just like to show off their belly and dont like rubs.

            my cat starts purring if i blow a raspberry into her stomach. she's only ever scratched me by accident in 14 years.

            • mar_k [he/him]
              ·
              7 months ago

              true I've owned cats and dogs and feel like cats just have a wider range of personality types and habits